Not every lighthouse needs a lofty tower to tell a remarkable story. Frying Pan Island’s little iron beacon once helped vessels navigate the southern approach to the St. Marys River. Today, preserved beside a Coast Guard building in Sault Ste. Marie, it offers a close look at the economical engineering of a nineteenth-century island light.
Quick Facts
| Current location | 337 Water Street, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Original location | Frying Pan Island in the DeTour Passage, near DeTour Village |
| Waterway | St. Marys River |
| First lit | 1882 |
| Tower height | 18 feet (5.5 metres) |
| Construction | Round, tapering cast-iron tower with a lantern and gallery |
| Appearance | White tower with a black lantern and gallery |
| Historic service | Retired in 1937; rescued and relocated in 1988 |
| Ownership | U.S. Coast Guard |
| Visitor access | Exterior viewing; tower closed |
History & Description
Built in 1882, the lighthouse marked Frying Pan Shoal near DeTour Village, where traffic moved between Lake Huron and the St. Marys River. It also served as a front range light paired with Pipe Island Light. By lining up the two signals, mariners could judge their course through the passage.
The original station was notably spare. The tower had no brick lining, no workroom and no keeper’s dwelling. A small building added in 1884 supplied storage, a cleaning table and a bunk—modest improvements for the person responsible for tending the lamp. The Coast Guard’s historical account records that the originally brown tower received white paint in 1894 to make it easier to distinguish by day.
The structure’s details remain its greatest attraction. Riveted iron plates form a tapering shell; a narrow door opens at the base, and brackets support a circular gallery beneath the glazed lantern. At just eighteen feet tall, the tower is a reminder that a lighthouse’s importance depended on its position and signal as much as its size.
The historic tower was taken out of service in 1937 after a replacement light assumed its task. It remained on the island for decades before being recovered in 1988, restored and placed at the Coast Guard facility in Sault Ste. Marie. Its present role is preservation and interpretation: the relocated tower is a historic display, rather than an operating navigation light at this address.
Historical references: U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse history · University of North Carolina Lighthouse Directory.
Visitor Information
- Find the tower
- View the current display location → Look for the lighthouse beside the Coast Guard building at 337 Water Street, near the eastern entrance to the Soo Locks.
- Exterior viewing
- The Lighthouse Directory lists the site as open and the tower as closed. Todd’s photographs show the tower beside the building and behind a fence; follow posted signs and view it from permitted public areas.
- Tower access
- This is an exterior sightseeing stop. There is no public tower climb.
- Island or city?
- The surviving historic tower is in Sault Ste. Marie. Visiting this display does not require a boat trip to its former island site near DeTour Village.
Visitor information checked October 12, 2026 against the Lighthouse Directory.
Photo Gallery
Photographs by Todd. Select a photograph to view it larger.
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